Shoeshine fixture



Aug. 21, 1945. G, EV N 2,383,150

' SHOESHINE FIXTURE Filed April 15, 1944 Jame s.-

New'fi Patented Aug. 21, 1945 a .UNITED; STATES PATENT OFFICE r2,333,150 r r sHo sruNE FIXTURE James G. Nevin; Toronto; Ontario, Canadaimit tion April 15, 1944,;Serial No. 531,161 V 3Clai1ns. (c1. 15-267)" 1it My invention relatesfto improvements in appliances for use in thecleaning andpolishing of footwear, and particularly appertains to thenovel construction and arrangementof a fixture adapted to hold a boot orshoe firmly while it is being polished. The invention has as a paramountobject the provision of a fixture which will. support and clamp a shoefirmly against shifting so. thata person may more easily andconveniently shine his shoes and impart a desirable high polish theretowhichis awkward to accomplish when a shoeis not held securelyagainstmovement.

The invention has as a further object the provision of a fixtureof thischaracter includinga clamping device .for engaging the sole and heel ofasho e, whichis actuated byapull-rod having self-locking means. H a 1The inventionhas asa still further object the production of a shoeshinefixturethaving means i by which it may be readily clamped ,to the seatof a chalr or other support that may be, suitable for the mountingof thefixture ataheight convenient for the cleaning-and polishing of shoes,and one that is suitable for household. use.

for. supporting the sole portion of a shoe. This plate carries means forgripping thesole and theheel portions, and is desirably equipped with anattachment device by which it may be conveniently clamped to the seat ofan ordinary chair or equivalent object that may be utilized to supportthe fixture at such a height that a person may stand upon one foot andrest the: other foot Adistinctivefeatureyof the invention-is that itautomatically adjustswitself" to different sizes of shoes andtoeithershoe of a pair. Theinvention is simple to operate and comparativelyinexpensive to manufacture.

Having described the majorobjects and ad vantages of the invention,other objects and advantages willbe manifest'from the description indetail hereinafter given and the drawing annexed'hereto. q l I u In thedrawing thereis shown the selected embodimentof the invention inwhich:

Fig.1 is a top plan view of the fixture.

r from an ear aforesaid.

Fig. 1 2 is a longitudinal view thereof partly in section andsubstantially takenalong the line 22.ofF ig..1.-. a a y Fig; 3 islacross section thereof taken on line 33ofFig.2.

Fig. 4 is across section thereof on line 4--4 ofFig.2..

Fig. 5is a plan view of the cam plate and the innerheelplate. l c

Fig. 6 is aperspective detail of the outer heel plate and its connectionwith the pull rod.

Like numerals of reference indicate .correspondingparts in each of thefigures throughout the drawing ofthe invention.

My invention embodies a top plate 10 suitable j Fig. 7 is a sectionaldetail of the front guide for the pull rod. l v

prises a pairlof ears l5 having upturned lugs I6] for engaging the sideedges thereof at the part of the shoe that narrows toward the toe end.The ears are in the. form of plates extending toward each other beneathsaid top plate, and are. guidably constrained for inward and outwardmovement as by-means of slots Il therein loosely engaged by headed pins18 secured to c said top plate. The earsare actuated by a cam plate 19disposed beneath said top plates and spaced therefrom. The cam plate isuidably constrained. to a reciprocable movement lengthwise of said topplate as by slots 20 loosely engagedby pins 2|. The cam plate has a pairof cam slots 22 convergingly disposed and each loosely engaged by apin23 rigidly depending It will be gathered that by this wardly when thecam plate is urged forwardly, and, conversely, a rearward movement ofthe cam plate causes the ears to spread.

. The means for gripping the heel of the shoe comprisesyan abutmentplate 24 and a heel rest 25. The abutment plate 24 has an upturnedshoulder 25 for engaging the breast of the heel, and is attachedPreferably by a swivel connection 26 to the said cam plate. The swivelconnection permits it to swing sidewise so that the. shoulder 25' mayadjust itself to the angular position of the heel when the shoe is notrestin squarely upon the top plate [0. l

The abutment plate is operable in an apertur The heel rest 25 isinthenatureof a plate havarrangement 'the cam slots 22 function to draw theears inward end 3| is curved to provide a pull portion I or otherwisedevised in a manner to enable it to be conveniently grasped by hand forpulling it forwardly, i Along an edge of a portion of the pull rod thatslides in the loop 32 there is provided a series of ratchet teeth 33adapted for engagement with an element, such as the tooth 34 at a sideof said loop, in order to lock the pull rod in any position to which itmay be advanced. The ratchet teeth are preferably caused to engage'withthe tooth 34 automatically as by resiliently pressing the rod towardsaid tooth, which may be accomplished by the curved leaf spring 35secured in the loopopening 36 to bear against the edge of the pull rodopposite said tooth 34see particularly Fig. 7;

According to the preceding description it will be evident that thefixture is used by placing the sole portion of the shoe upon the topplate Ill and the heel between the abutment plate 24 and the heel rest25, and then drawing the pull rod 29 forwardly. As the pull rod is thusadvanced, the lugs 28 engage the heel and urge the shoe forwardlycausing its front edge or breast portion to engage the shoulder of theabutment plate 24, The abutment plate is now urged forwardly along withthe shoe, which advances the cam plate l9 thereby drawing the ears l5inwardly into firm engagement with opposite edge portions of the sole.In the result both the heel and the sole are grasped securely, and thegripping means are locked by the engagement of the tooth 34 with one ofthe teeth of the rack 33. To re- I lease the shoe it is only necessaryto press the pull rod away from the tooth 34 and push it rearwardly atthe same time.

Since the sole of a shoe commonly recedes from the toe portion on asharper angle at the outer side, it is desirable that the heel-rest 25may be capable of swinging laterally to a limited extent so that a shoefor the right foot ma be held in a position at a slight angle to on sideof the longitudinal axis of the top plate, and the shoe for the leftfoot may be held at a slight angle to the other side thereof. Thisresults in a more secure engagement of the gripping elements, and isaccomplished by pivoting the loop 32 to the top plate as at 3! so thatthe'pull rod may shift lat- .erally in the slot 30. Also, it isdesirable that the heel-rest be yieldably mounted on the pull rod inorder to assure that no play will exist when a tooth of the tooth-rackthereon is in engagement with the locking tooth 34. This may be achievedby slidablymounting the heel-rest on the pull rod as by the members .38and interposing a spring 39 between lugs 40 and a stop shoulder 4|. Thelugs 40 are struck up on the underside of the heel-rest and the stopshoulder 4| is formed by bending downwardly the rear end of the pullrod. The spring 39 is of the leaf type and is secured to the shoulder 4|intermediate of its length, the ends being curved outwardly to engagesaid lugs 40. By this arrangement the pull rod may be advanced into firmlocking engagement with the tooth 34 such as to tension the spring 39.From the preceding description it will be manifest that the inventionprovides a practical and serviceable fixture ofthe kind described andone which is self adjustable to accommodate shoes of different sizes.Such changes and modifications may be made in the invention as comewithin the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A shoeshine fixture comprising a top plate for supporting the soleportion of a shoe, ears slidably mounted at the sides of the top platefor movement to and away from each other, a subtending cam platemountedfor reciprocal movement longitudinally of the top plate, said cam platehaving cam surfaces arranged to cause said ears to move inwardly toclamp the sole portion of the shoe when the cam plate is urgedforwardly, an abutment plate for engaging the front wall portion of theshoe-heel, said abutment plate being secured to the cam plate forunitary movement therewith a forwardly slidable heel rest havingupwardly directed lugs for engaging the rear wall portion of theshoe-heel, a pull rod for urging the heel rest forwardly to cause theheel of the shoe to abut said abutment plate and thus urge the cam plateforwardly, and means for locking the pull rod against retraction so asto retain the heel rest in any position to which it may be advanced.

'2. A shoeshine fixture comprising a top plate for supporting the soleportion of a shoe, ears slidably mounted at the sides of the top platefor movement to and away from each other, a sub-.

tending cam plate mounted for reciprocal movement longitudinally of thetop plate, said cam plate having cam surfaces arranged to cause saidears to move inwardly to clamp the sole portion of the shoe when the camplate is urged forwardly, an abutment plate carried by the cam plate forengaging the front wall portion of the shoe-heel,

a movable heel rest having upwardly directed lugs for engaging the rearwall portion of' the shoe-heel, a pull rod by which the heel rest iscarried by urging it forwardly to cause the heel of the shoe to abutsaidabutment plate and thus urge the cam plate forwardly, means whereby thepull rod is guidably supported for endwise movement, said means being soconstructed as to pro vide also for a restricted lateral movement ofthepull rodQand means for locking the pull rod against retraction so as toretain the heel rest in any position to which it may be advanced.

3. A shoeshine fixture'comprising a top plate for supporting the soleportion of a shoe, ears slidably mounted at the sides of the top platefor movement to and awayfrom'eaoh other, a subtending cam plate mountedfor reciprocal movement longitudinally of the top plate, said cam platehaving cam surfaces arranged to cause said ears to move inwardly toclamp the sole, portion of the shoe when 'thecam plate is urgedforwardly, an abutment plate carried by the cam plate for engaging thefront wall portion of the shoe-heel, a movableheel rest having upwardlydirected lugs for engaging the rear wall portion of the shoe-heel, apull IOdfOr urging-the heel rest forwardly to cause the heel of the shoeto abutsaid abutment plate and thus urge the cam plate

